Dissertation Committee
The Dissertation Committee is responsible for overseeing the student’s completion of the dissertation process including approving the prospectus (including decisions about which manuscripts to include in the dissertation), periodic review of progress, and final approval/acceptance of the dissertation following the oral defense. The Committee is comprised of: 1) a Chairperson (the student’s Primary Academic Advisor), who is responsible for scheduling and running meetings and periodically informing the Executive Committee of the student’s progress/performance; 2) the student’s Research Mentor, who bears primary responsibility for overseeing and mentoring/advising the student during the dissertation process, and 3) at least one other member with expertise related to the dissertation research topic. Except for the Committee Chair, the Dissertation Committee can include members who do not have an affiliation with the MGH and it can have more than three members when it is judged that it would be helpful to include additional expertise. However, a majority of the Committee members must hold regular or adjunct faculty appointments at the MGH Institute. Students should work with their academic advisor & research mentor to determine when they are ready to proceed with their prospectus meeting. The academic advisor should then complete the Prospectus Meeting Preparation Form to notify the Executive Committee and propose appropriate faculty members to serve on the dissertation committee. After the Dissertation Committee is chosen and approved by the Executive Committee,, the chair of the committee will coordinate the scheduling of the prospectus meeting with assistance from the Program Coordinator as needed.